A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries

Volume I: 1567-1784

Julie Coleman

written for a multi-disciplinary readership of social and cultural historians and historians of language

full of revelation about the underside of early modern English life

A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries

Volume I: 1567-1784

Julie Coleman

Description

The first of three volumes (volume 2, 1785-1874, forthcoming in 2005; volume 3, 1874 to present, forthcoming in 2007) comprising a complete history of the recording of English cant and slang - the jargon of sport, trade, and crime - which give unparalleled insights into the history of slang and the people who used it. Provides information on words and their meanings such as 'ziff' (a young thief), 'bundletail' (a short fat or squat lass), and 'arsworm' (a little diminutive fellow).

A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries

Volume I: 1567-1784

Julie Coleman

Table of Contents

Abbreviations and Conventions List of illustrations Introduction 1. The beggars are coming to town2. The Harman-lists3. The Head-lists4. The B. E.-lists5. The life of Bampfylde-Moore Carew6. Other cant and slang lists7. Cant in other dictionaries8. ConclusionsTables Canting songs Bibliography Index

A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries

Volume I: 1567-1784

Julie Coleman

Author Information

Julie Coleman lectures in English Historical Linguistics and Medieval Literature at the University of Leicester. She has written widely on English lexicology and lexicography from the medieval period onwards, and is founder and current chair of the International Society for Historical Lexicography and Lexicology (http://www.le.ac.uk/ee/jmc21/ishll.html).